Norton Internet Security 2004

Symantec's Norton Internet Security 2004 combines the power and configurability of Norton Personal Firewall 2004 (including its ad-blocking and privacy controls) with Norton AntiSpam (available separately for $39.95), Norton AntiVirus 2004, and a parental control feature that can set different levels of privacy and site-blocking for individual users. The whole package works smoothly together, letting you control all features from an uncluttered and well-organized control center.

AntiSpam is effortless to use and requires no customization. It automatically integrates with Eudora, Outlook, and Outlook Express by adding menu and toolbar options for tagging messages. It then moves tagged messages to a Norton AntiSpam folder in the mail client. Experts can alter the rule to delete spam from the server, but the default setting only quarantines messages. AntiSpam uses pattern-matching and user-customizable blacklists and whitelists to tag messages, and it performed reliably on our informal tests. We only wish the AntiSpam interface were more tightly integrated with the main suite's interface.

Parental controls create separate levels of Web site, newsgroup, and program access for individuals, with preset default settings for children, teenagers, and adults. Web and newsgroup filtering is based on a slow-to-load list of sites. Site categories that can be blocked include tobacco, travel, and real estate in addition to standards like gambling, drugs, and pornography.

With the best integration of its components and the best security components themselves, Norton Internet Security 2004 is the suite you should buy. It's our Editors' Choice by a wide margin.

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